Dean's POV

The paper lay on the table in the middle of us, all three of you staring down at such a simple item. But it wasn't. This simple paper had our lives written on it, and someone, like a child, had made it possible for Y/N to be walking this Earth again. It was terrifying, and I wanted this to end as soon as possible, but I hadn't the slightest idea where to start.

"Do you think it could be a prophet?" Sam thought out loud. "Maybe even Chuck messing with us?"

"Chuck's gone missing, so I don't think so," Y/N argued. "And we know the only prophet. I don't think that's it either."

"So we're back at square one. Sure, we have the paper, but we don't know if it's an Angel, witch, Demon. Hell, has anyone checked to see if this is a dream brought on by a Djinn?" I asked.

"I hope not," Y/N whispered, quiet enough that she thought nobody would hear. But I did, and I turned to stare at her, immediately realizing what she was thinking. That our relationship would be nothing more than a part of that dream. I could see how much it had upset her, as she turned and left for her room.

"What was that about?" Sam asked, both of us staring towards the hallway.

"I think it was about the Djinn. If this is a dream, then that means...," I let my words fade away, not wanting to speak them outloud.

"Then the two of you wouldn't be, I get it," Sam finished. "But Dean, you cared for her before all of this happened."

"I know that. But she doesn't," i sighed. "Sam, see if you can dig anything else up. I'm going to talk to Y/N, see if I can somehow make her feel better about this.

"Mom, Dad!" Zach called out, storming through the house. "Have you seen my book?"

"What book is that sweetie?" His Mom asked, stepping out of the kitchen. "Isn't Tyler supposed to be here any minute?"

"Yeah, that's why I need my book!" Zach grumbled, his eyes red, his hands almost shaking.

"Zach, I...I found it," Sophia stuttered. "It was in Dad's study."

"Oh, that old book. Why are you guys reading it anyways?" His Mom asked, but Zach just rolled his eyes, snatching the book and holding it to his chest.

"We need to finish it," Zach insisted, taking the book outside while Sophia waited for Tyler.

The sun was starting to set when they were finally ready to start. Sophia was settled into her corner of the tent, already a frown on her face. "Zach, do you think we should stop reading? I'm starting to not like this book."

"No!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide and scary. "We've got to finish the story!"

Turning the book to the next chapter, Zach started reading, his voice once again low and creepy. "It had been going on for decades," Zach read. "Children would hike to this pond, a cool swim their intent, only to never be found. Adults stayed cleared of the murky waters, threatening their children to do the same. But it never failed, at least one child a summer would be drawn in by the coolness the water promised, only to never come up for air."

"That's creepy!" Tyler broke in, earning a glare from Zach.

"After the seventh kid had gone missing, it drew the attention of one of our heroes, who arrived to save the kids. But not used to hunting alone, things take a turn south."

Y/N, can I come in?" I asked, quietly knocking on her door.

"Sure," came her voice, muted through the door and I pushed my way in to see her sitting on her bed, her legs drawn up to her chest. "Dean, do you think that's what this is? Just part of a Djinn dream?"

"No, I don't," I assured her, settling down next to her. "Y/N, I care about you before all these weird hunts started happening. So, even if this is all just a weird dream, I know I'll still care about you afterwards as well."

"I cared about you before too," she admitted. "I always wanted to tell you, but I was too afraid."

Just as I went to pull her into a hug, I heard a loud crash from the library. "Sam?" I called out, frowning when he didn't answer.

"I don't like this," Y/N whispered, both of us standing up and heading back into the library. The paper was still in the middle of the table, Sam's laptop beside it. A lamp had toppled to its side, along with the chair. A couple of books were thrown about the floor, but Sam was nowhere to be seen.

"Sam?" I called out. "Sammy!"

"Dean, look!" Y/N pointed to the screen, and I came over, wondering what could have happened to Sam. Peering down, I noticed the police report on the main screen, along with past newspaper articles. They all pointed to the same thing, missing children, with suspicion they died in the old town pond.

"Do you think...," She started to say.

"Do I think that Sam got sucked in to a hunt like you did? Yeah, I do," I muttered. "This one's about three hours away. Hopefully he doesn't go close to the pond before then. That thing's creepy!"

Sure the sun was setting, and both of you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and catch some sleep. But I couldn't. Not now, with Sam missing, off to fight another hunt, and who knows what this story or dream we were in had in store for us.

"Dean, don't worry, we'll find him," Y/N assured me as we climbed into the Impala, my jaw set as I wondered exactly what we were stepping in to.

The town was fairly large, an agricultural town I guessed as we pulled up to the gas station. "You get gas, I'll see if I can get any information from the attendant," Y/N offered, bouncing up the stairs, leaving me behind at the greasy old gas pump.

With the Impala fueling up, I watched as Y/N flirted with the gas attendant, and I had to force myself not to get jealous.

When she came back with a huge smile on her face, I slammed the gas pump back into place, sliding into place behind the steering wheel. "I found out where the pond is!" She exclaimed, sliding in beside me. "And where Sam might bunk down."

Shoving my jealousy down, I turned to face her. "So we go get a hotel room, and hope that Sam's there?"

"I think that's our best start. If he's not there, we head to the pond, or the police department," she agreed, sliding over and laying her head on my shoulder, sending away any remaining jealousy.

The hotel was another run down, paint peeling type of place, only minutes away from where the pond was supposedly located. Y/N stayed in the car while I went in to get a room, hoping that Sam was there as well.

It was only minutes later I walked back out, a key in my hand, shaking my head towards Y/N who leaned up against the Impala. "Well, he was here. Got a room, and then took off. They haven't seen him since."

"Dean, we'll find him," she assured me, squeezing my hand, giving the comfort I so desperately needed. I hated not knowing where Sam was. These hunts were unpredictable, and were driving me crazy.

"Let's head to the pond," I insisted, knowing in my heart that something wasn't right. That this wasn't going to be a simple hunt.

"What do you think we're dealing with? A water sprite? A drowned spirit?" She asked as we climbed back into the car. "Do we bring our entire menagerie of weapons?"

"I really have no idea," I answered. "Maybe the salt, but I have no clue. Let's hope that we don't have to use any quite yet."

The interior of the car turned silent as I drove the short distance to the pond. Or at least to the pull off we were directed to. The pond was a mile hike, something I wasn't exactly looking forward to.

Pulling off the road, we immediately noticed the older sedan parked off to the side. Knowing it was probably Sam, I made my way to the back of the Impala, quickly stashing different weapons into my duffel bag, Y/N doing the same. "Ready?" I asked her, and she nodded.

As we turned to the trail, I reached out, grasping her arm. "Just promise me that you won't go into the water. No matter what happens, don't go into the pond. We'll figure something out, I just can't have you go into the water."

"Dean, I can't promise that," she answered. "But let's not worry about that now. Let's worry about finding Sam."

The trail to the pond was easy to spot, and easy to follow. Often able to walk side by side, you kept an eye out for something out of place. It wasn't until you had gone almost three quarters of a mile when you heard what sounded like a struggle. "Y/N, listen," you whispered, your hand on her shoulder.

"That's Sam!" She exclaimed the same time I realized it as well. Racing off, her right behind me, I came to the top of the hill, seeing Sam across from me. The pond was in between us, surrounded by tall oak trees and willows. It was a serene place, with a sense of creepiness attached.

Sam was breathing heavily, a shovel in his hands as he dug at the dam. "Sam!" I called out, his eyes widening when he saw up.

"Dean, I need help! There's a boy, and he's not coming back!" Sam exclaimed. Rushing forward, I began stripping out of my jacket as Y/N raced over to Sam's side.

"No, Dean!" Sam screamed, stopping me before I could jump into the water. "Don't jump into the water!"

"This story isn't as scary as the rest," Tyler muttered, laying back down on his bed as Zach finally paused. "I mean, what's scary about people missing in a muddy pond?"

"I have to agree with Tyler," Sophia agreed. "This one doesn't seem like it fits in with the rest."

"Can I just keep reading?" Zach grumbled, annoyed with the distruptance of his friends. "I don't care if it's creepy, I need to finish it."

"This book has gotten to you, man," Tyler told his friend. "Sometimes I wish we never started it."

"Don't' say that!" Zach slammed his hand onto the book. "This book is everything. We have to finish it!"

"Don't you feel like reading this is wrong?" His sister asked, scooping up a handful of popcorn. "I can't help but feel we're doing something wrong by reading it. What if these people are real or something?"

"Sophia don't be ridiculous," Zach insisted, before turning back to the book.

"Why can't I?" I asked, trying to catch my balance. But it was then I understood why. Staring up at me were the creepy, unblinking eyes of a dead girl as she continued to reach up for help, even in death. But it wasn't just the dead, glassy eyes that scared me into scuttling backwards. It was the snake slithering out of her mouth, his tongue flicking as it turned it's head towards me.

"What the hell?" I asked, making my way towards Sam and Y/N.

Sam was furiously digging, and Y/N had picked up a stick, helping him as much as possible.

"I have no idea. I got dumped her, much like I suspected Y/N had. I started digging around, finding out they had managed to pull one body out. It was full of snakes, but not just any type of snakes. Venomous copperhead snakes. I'm thinking this pool is haunted by some sort of Native American Curse.

"I hate snakes," I muttered, feeling little comfort in the fact that I sounded like Indiana Jones. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'm trying to break the Dam. If I can get to the bottom of the pond, maybe we can figure out what's causing it."

"You said something about a boy?" Y/N asked, wiping her face, getting a streak of mud across her cheek.

"He went in just before I got here. I don't think he made it," Sam mumbled, frowning.

Braking off another branch, I helped dig at the soft dirt, watching as water started to fall down the hill. With one final push of his shovel, the dam broke, and we climbed up to higher ground, watching as the water poured down the hill, soaking into the ground below.

As the pond drained, more dead bodies appeared, in various forms of decomposition. The girl I had seen earlier hung by the edge of the pond, caught in branches as another snake slid from her mouth, down into the water.

As I moved to put my stick down, my foot slipped, and I found myself sliding into the murky waters of the pool, where more copperheads were no doubt waiting for me. "Dean!" Y/N cried, as my foot slipped into the water. Scrambling to find something to hold on to, I felt the water creeping up my legs, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before a snake started slithering up my leg.

Sam slid down the bank, grabbing my hand and attempting to pull me up. With the soft ground, it was a struggle, but finally he had me out of the water and back onto the hill. Breathing heavily, we stared down, where I had just been. Two snakes were partially out of the water, hissing as they hit the dirt. "They can't leave the pond," Y/N whispered, as we watched them slide back in to what was left of the water.

It was almost twenty minutes later when the water was mostly gone, showing at least ten skeleton's underneath. The ground was a whirling mass of snakes, slithering in and out of the bones, hissing as they tried to find water to hide in. "That's just disgusting," Y/N whispered, holding tight to my arm. "But wait!"

Following where she had pointed, I saw the newest death, a young boy trapped by the other side, his mouth wide open in fear. Clutched in his hand was a soggy, faded piece of paper, much like at the other hunt. "I'm not going in to get it," I insisted, seeing all the snakes around him.

"Neither do I," both Sam and Y/N said at the same time. "But Dean, do we try and give people closure? I think it would be best to burn this whole place."

"I agree. I'd like to see that paper, but there's no way we're trying to bring up any of these bodies. I'll get the lighter fluid."

After thoroughly dumping three cases of lighter fluid on the skeletons and writhing bodies of the snakes, Sam held up a match, tossing it down, watching as the flames licked upwards. The snakes continued to hiss before finally going up in flames. "Do you think that will take care of the curse?" Y/N asked.

"I have no idea, but I think with the pond gone, and the snakes it's a start," Sam answered, all of us picking up our items before turning back to the car.

Without even spending the night at the hotel, we drove back to the bunker, surprised to see Cas already there, waiting for us. "Where were you?" He asked, noticing my muddy pants, Y/N's muddy cheek, and Sam's shirt.

"We took care of a curse," Sam sighed.

"I think I found out more information about what's happening to you," Cas said. "I noticed this paper, and it goes with what I found out."

"Cas, we're dirty and tired. So whatever you have to say, spit it out," I mumbled, taking a beer from the fridge.

"Sam, Dean, Y/N, these hunts that you've been experiencing. They're all part of an ancient curse."

"But what do they have to do with that page? And why us?" Y/N asked.

"I think the curse is in a book. And that page is from that book. But I'm still not sure why it's targeting you. I'm still looking, but I wanted you to know what I've found. So please, try to be safe while I figure out more," he ordered. "Oh, can I have this?"

Without waiting for an answer, Cas disappeared, the paper gone as well.